liquid superfood HUEL challenge (it’s like soylent) – the throwdown
I mentioned in my last update that I was going to do a new TFS challenge as I hadn’t done one for a while. A few years in fact!
To be fair this isn’t much of a challenge, in that I am not going to have any parameters that determine whether I’ve “passed” or “failed” the challenge, but more of a personal experiment like we’ve seen over at Raptitude so often. In fact this “challenge” is directly inspired by the Raptitude DIY Soylent experiment which I recently (re-)read about. But for the sake of consistency with my old challenges I will call it a challenge (no quotes) from here on in.
So let’s find out the what/why/how of this challenge!
what is Huel?
Huel is a similar idea to Soylent, which as far as I know was the original idea for a liquid based superfood diet whereby all of your daily energy, nutrients, vitamins and minerals are catered for just by drinking a blended drink made of all of the ingredients needed to provide this. If you want to find out the full ingredients/nutritional info of Huel please click here.
I will honestly say that I didn’t research how to get Soylent in the UK, but as David (from Raptitude) was struggling to get it in Canada during his experiment, hence going DIY with the ingredients, I just guessed that it would still be very hard/expensive to get over here in the UK. Then someone at work mentioned Huel so I checked it out.
It seems to be exactly the same idea, albeit with different ingredients – which is no big deal because there is no one “correct” formula for this sort of thing – hence all of the soylent DIY recipes you can get on line. Furthermore, I really didn’t fancy DIY’ing this with my own ingredients. Just sounds like way too much hassle! So I thought I’d just give Huel a try and see how I got on.
Huel is a UK company and made in the UK, so it made even more sense to try that over other brands.
why are you doing this?
The touted benefits from reading Davids posts on DIY soylent (surely unbiased, he isn’t selling anything here as it’s a DIY recipe), and from “testimonials” and other informational areas of the Huel website (admittedly which have a chance of being biased):
- Better energy levels – Now I would probably just attribute this down to not binging on sugary, carby food. As when I tried my no added sugar challenge, I felt I had way more energy – mainly due to not having frequent sugar crashes. So it doesn’t surprise me that people are reporting similar things when they are trying Huel or other liquid complete food drinks.
- Save time – Barely any prep for food or clearing up afterwards.
- Save money – It costs between £1-£1.50 per meal from what I can tell depending on how many scoops you have and how much discount you get when you bought it (buying in bulk means its cheaper) which is cheaper than most meals most people have.
- Eating more sustainably – It’s vegan, and creates a very small amount of packaging compared to solid food. I really like this aspect of it!
But what do I expect to gain from this, exactly?
- I’m currently feeling quite energy-less and a bit run down if I’m honest. I do eat quite healthily but also eat a lot of crap (sugary snacks and so on). I know I could just try the no sugar challenge again, but I feel like this is a more “rip the plaster off” approach which will hopefully reset my bad eating habits, just as Mr 1500 tried way back in 2014 with Soylent.
- One of our recent hospital visits was for me, because I’ve had a sore patch on my tongue for about 6 months. It’s not that bad but just really irritating and I’d obviously rather it not be there. They mentioned it could be because of some deficiency, and gave me a blood test, so I feel like I may be missing something out of my diet.
- On top of that, some “tough” food tends to irritate it, by scratching my tongue (even slightly overdone toast, for example). There is no chance of a liquid breakfast/lunch irritating it in this way, so I’m hoping this will help on two fronts with my strange tongue issue 🙂
- I expect to save myself a small amount of time by not preparing breakfast and lunch. David from Raptitude said he felt like he was getting 2-3 hours back due to this plus needing less sleep, but I can’t see it being that drastic for me. Still… every little helps and even if I save 30 minutes per day, and feel less tired in the mornings, I will be very happy with that.
- Honestly I don’t expect to save much money with this. I usually have a free breakfast at work, and take my lunches in which is usually just salads with maybe a small amount of meat, or leftovers. I’d estimate maximum £2/day, not including when I get lunch out occasionally (which I will probably still do even when on this challenge. See, I told you it wasn’t much of a challenge didn’t I? 🙂 ). Given the £1-1.50/meal I reckon I will just about break even on this front. It shouldn’t increase our food bill, at least. For many people though I could see easy savings to be made on the financial front.
- Mrs T was also interested in it after I mentioned it to her. She thought it might be able to help her lose a bit of weight. I think it could be good for this as it’s really easy to control calories and supposedly fills you up for a long time. Although it must be said this is not something I would personally like to happen while eating it, so I will be watching out I don’t actually lose weight, while Mrs T will be hoping for quite the opposite! 🙂
how are you doing this?
As I said there are no hard rules on this one, I am just going to eat it when I can and when it suits me. I like food too much to go “all Huel” and I don’t fancy taking it out with me when we are out and about, which can be quite often, especially when I am off work (which I have about 2 weeks off in September).
With that said, I am basically going to try to eat Huel for lunch and dinner whenever possible for at least a whole month, probably longer because I think what I’ve bought so far will last us a lot longer than that. I’ll keep some notes and write up a conclusions post at the end of a month on it though.
In the meantime, I have actually started the challenge already, so here are some initial thoughts on it:
first impressions
Here are my thoughts after the first 3 days
- Day 1 (Tuesday) – Tried 1 scoop of the normal vanilla flavoured Huel. It was alright tasting, if a little grainy. I will try whizzing it with a blender tomorrow to see if that helps. I felt I could eat some normal food straight after having it, but soon felt full up after a short delay, and didn’t really think about food again until lunchtime. Considering we took TFS Jr to a singing group, then swimming, so a relatively active morning, I though this was quite promising. 1 Scoop is only 150 calories, so quite mad that kept me full till lunchtime really. Mrs T agreed and she is a serial snacker 🙂
- Day 2 (Wednesday) – I was back at work and tried 1.5 scoops for breakfast, with some banana flavouring. I didn’t really like it (way too sweet for me) but Mrs T thought it was nice. I think if I want banana flavoured Huel I would just whizz a banana into it in future. Oh yea… I blended this batch and it was slightly less lumpy/grainy which made it nicer to eat. I played Squash at 12pm and didn’t really feel hungry or have any energy crashes during the game, which I often get if I have only had porridge or other cereals for breakfast and no other morning snacks. I had about 2 scoops of the normal vanilla plus a banana (not blended) for lunch. Having the banana made it a little more palatable I thought and didn’t notice the granularity as much. Although I didn’t feel that hungry I caved in and had a cookie late in the afternoon as someone was dishing them out at work. D’oh! Still… I think that it will make turning this sort of stuff down a lot easier in future as you don’t get that “4 o’clock wilting” feeling you do having had *normal* food. I did have a brief tired spell in the afternoon but it lasted about 15 minutes rather than the usual one after eating lunch which can last for about an hour – or the whole afternoon if you’ve had a pub lunch! 🙂
- Day 3 (Thursday) – Tried 2 scoops of the “New improved vanilla” flavour and I have to say this was my favourite flavour so far. I think I’ll stick to this one and Mrs T can have the other Vanilla one as she preferred that. I guess it’s just down to individual tastes! Did the same as yesterday and had a little choccy biscuit even though I felt fine not to have one, but I did go for a run at lunch time. The run felt OK, not outstanding, but I didn’t have my headphones in which always makes me feel a bit weird. In terms of performance I ran actually very well. I had another 2 scoops for lunch with a banana, and yet again just did feel hungry for ages. I stopped in Lidl on the way home at about 7:30pm and by that time I’d normally find it very hard not to buy all the cakes and snacks I could get my grubby little mitts on due to being ridiculously hungry, but I just waltzed past all of that and picked up the 2 or 3 items I needed. I really am starting to think there might be something in this… people!
Look, the bottom is line is it doesn’t taste amazing, like a bacon sandwich. But it actually tastes alright considering what it is. They’ve done a good job with the basic flavours I think. It’s definitely not “disgusting” which is what Mr 1500’s verdict of soylent was, but don’t expect something amazing, although your taste buds may vary of course. But in terms of keeping me full and energy levels up, it’s working pretty well so far I would say. It will be interested to see how it plays out over the course of the rest of the month.
I still have 9 flavour packs to try out as well as doing a few other experiments like making pancakes with it, as you can just use it as a flour substitute for most “bakey” type items. So I’ll report on how that all goes down as well, as well as any other thoughts and significant events (or bowel movements… haha) that happen over the next few weeks!
Finally, I would not like you to think any of the above is a recommendation, having only been “on it” for 3 days, but if anyone is interested in following me in with their own Huel experiment, please consider using this link which will give you £10 off your first order (and me £10 off my next order, which remains to be seen whether I’ll actually use it yet anyway!)
Discussion (21) ¬
I quite like HUEL having first stumbled across it a few years ago. Some tips I suggest. 1) blend it for maximum mixing and to eliminate the lumps. 2) Make it the night before and keep in the fridge overnight (it results in a nicer texture in my opinion. 3) to spice up the plain vanilla offering, I alternate between adding some frozen berries (strawberries, raspberries etc). My other favourite flavour is to add a spoonful of granulated coffee with the banana.
I don’t do it religiously, but most often take it to work as a liquid lunch and to avoid having to buy expensive sandwiches every day. Speed and convenience etc. A colleague of mine lives solely off HUEL Monday to Friday (3x per day!)
Yea there are loads of different things you can add to switch it up a bit and if you are blending it anyway to get the lumps out, chucking in a banana or a few berries is hardly much effort. I like the idea of that and will try with berries. I am generally finding it too sweet so some slightly sharp tasting berries might offset that a bit!
Not a fan of coffee so won’t be trying that though… sorry 🙂
Haha not sure I could handle it for 5 days on the trot! Does he do it for weight loss or does he say it makes him feel great? Or both?
Cheers Dan!
Ooh, this is an experiment I can definitely get on board with! I was meant to do a no-sugar challenge this year, but my sugar junkie self has not managed that as yet (and probably never will). I guess I’m most attracted by the vegan and cost appeal of Huel. Look forward to reading your report when the month is up!
Haha… can feel your pain being a sugar junkie!
I’m about half way through a month now and I’m really quite liking the whole thing to be honest. I can see this could be something that sticks.
Sounds a bit grim tbh, but fair play on you for giving it a go. On a whim, I bought some vegan protein powder when it was sale on Amazon. It has been a real chore to get through it as I found the flavour/sweetener too weird and intense for my liking.
I have found museli a better substitute for breakfast cereals as the nuts etc seem to last longer than others.
I think I’ve made it sound worse than it actually is, but didn’t want to come across as if I’m recommending the stuff after only trying it for 3 days.
Yep I am finding it a bit too sweet and/or “fake” tasting… I am going to get the plain flavour (i.e. no added flavour) Huel in my next batch order and see if I can add my own natural flavourings such as whizzing up a banana into it and see how that tastes.
I’ve tried musli, porridge, they do fill you up a bit longer than normal sugary cereals but still find I am hungry around 11-11:30 especially if I am doing something active/running around after TFS Jr 🙂
Good luck. I’ve never been brave enough to even taste it when offered. There was one ex-colleague who used to lick his lid clean every morning as he loved it so much (put me off even more!).
Me and the OH are currently having whey protein smoothies as a meal replacement every other day with a mixture of frozen fruits from Costco, low fat yogurt, almond milk and scoops of vanilla whey protein. It saves a lot of time in the evening from having to cook a meal and was nice and refreshing during our heat wave. Probably have to stop soon as it’s getting a bit too cold.
That is…. a bit odd haha.
That sounds nice with all the extras mixed in. Will have to try something similar with Huel!
I’ve been using Huel for a while and actually quite enjoy it (new improved vanilla is also my favourite). I started with a full-on 3x 500-calorie meal/7 day full immersion but tbh I only managed 5 days, as come the weekend I was desperate for normal food!
Right now I am using it to help lose a little weight and also combine it with intermittent fasting – which I do 5 days a week (i.e. work days). On these days I only eat between Midday and 8pm, leaving 16 hours to reach a fasted state. That first meal (i.e. lunch at work) is a 500 calorie serving of Huel. Then a normal dinner in the evening. It’s become the norm for me and I’ve got through nearly 10 bags of the stuff already!
Good luck!
I definitely couldn’t do it 3 meals a day, I love my food too much!
It is perfect for days when I’m at work but also very easy to just do for breakfast when I’m not at work and just see how it goes for lunch, so I’ll just have it as and when I can/want really.
Good to hear from someone who has used it for a while and still enjoying it… thanks!
I’ve been using Huel for about 6 months following a diabetes T2 diagnosis, usually having a mug of the stuff for breakfast. I previously tried Slimfast and a supermarket equivalent but found them too sweet. On Huel, I’ve lost weight at a steady and sustainable rate – about 1kg a week, and am now at my healthy weight, and my blood sugar has also declined to near normal levels.
Couple of tips – use a little less than the makers recommend, it’s hard to get it all to dissolve otherwise and I make it with unsweetened almond milk, this avoids the lactose in dairy milk. I find the vanilla Huel + almond is a winning flavour combination and keeps me feeling full until lunch.
Hi Philip,
Wow… I never even thought of it being beneficial for medical conditions like diabetes. Did your doctor recommend it? Or did you ask them and they OK’d it (as it always says consult your doctor before making any radical dietary changes doesn’t it)?
I have just been having it with Water so no worry about the lactose thing (not that I’m intolerant anyway). I tried it with milk once and didn’t seem much different so just went back to water. Agreed on using slightly less, I don’t like it as much when I make it too thick!
Thanks for the tips and sharing your experiences with Huel 🙂
No, it was a not a medical recommendation, I basically chose it for weight loss and I find it very effective for losing the weight and keeping it off, which is the single most effective thing you can do for diabetes.
There are strict rules about claiming medicinal benefits for food products and indeed at my ‘diabetes awareness day’ they warned us that many products marketed at diabetics are pretty useless.
Hi Philip,
Thanks for clarifying that, and yes a very important point to note about taking claims like I inadvertently insinuated were making (sorry!) with a pinch of salt. I would imagine keeping the weight off helps with a large number of health issues though, so the secondary benefits of Huel (if used for this purpose) are still tangible.
Cheers!
I’ve been using Huel fairly regularly for over two years. I take three sandwich bags of powder to work every day, but usually only get through one or two depending on whether I have an early or late start to work. I have a Naked Noodle/Rice for lunch to get the solid food hit.
I used to mix the old vanilla 2/3rds with 1/3rd unflavoured/unsweetened, but the new vanilla, coffee and berry flavours are pretty good on their own and much better than the flavour sachets, which are too sweet.
This has worked well to keep me out of work’s canteen and is much easier and more practical than making sandwiches every day 🙂
Wow 2 years!
It can be done long term then!
Have done a few of the flavour packs so far and agreed most are too sweet for me. I am definitely going to buy an unflavoured pack next time, thanks for your thoughts on that!
Haha, yea it definitely is a time saver compared to the ballache of making sarnies or a salad etc…
Cheers!
Interesting experiment, though I’m not sure it’s one I would try. I was on protein whey mix a couple of years ago, which helped me lose some hard-to-shift poundage so I might go back to that again. If the Huel bars didn’t look like they were smothered in chocolate (or chocolate alternative), I’d give those a go but since you can only buy them in packs of 16, I wouldn’t want to have 15 on my hands after trying one and not liking them!
Some interesting news on ‘Huel expansion’ – https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2018/10/04/huel-raises-20m-seeks-expand-future-food-worldwide/
That’s awesome… ah if only we could have invested a few years ago… oh for that time machine haha